Family Time: TV tip-overs a hazard for young children

Tuesday

Feb 26, 2013 at 12:01 AMFeb 26, 2013 at 10:10 AM

Weekly family rail, with tips on securing your television, a review of "Escape From Planet Earth" and more.

Tip of the Week

Many homes have new TVs decorating the living room, bedroom, den and even the kitchen. These TVs often feature the latest wide, flat screens. While they provide a beautiful viewing experience, flat screen TVs are top-heavy on a narrow base, and they can easily be pulled off an entertainment center or other piece of furniture.

Many families might be surprised to know that every three weeks a child dies from a television tipping over. And nearly 13,000 more children are injured in the U.S. each year. Alarmingly, over the last 10 years there has been a 31 percent increase in TV tip-over-related injuries.

A recent report by Safe Kids Worldwide and SANUS revealed that young children are at greatest risk of TV tip-overs. The study, A Report to the Nation on Home Safety: The Dangers of TV Tip-Overs, includes data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and new findings from Safe Kids Worldwide primary research. The research shows that seven out of 10 children injured by TV tip-overs are 5 years old or younger. Sadly, this age group also accounts for nine out of 10 serious injuries requiring hospitalization.

According to the research, three out of four parents reported they don't secure their TV to the wall, either because they are not aware that securing a TV is an important safety measure, or they have concerns about damaging the wall or installing the TV incorrectly.

What can parents do to ensure that their children stay safe?

- Check your TV. Assess the stability of the TVs in your home. Remember, a curious, determined child can topple a TV. Children playing with friends or pets could knock a TV over, while other kids might be tempted to climb up to reach items placed on or near a TV, such as remote controls or candy.

- Secure your TV. Securing your TV to the wall is a safe solution. Much like child-proofing with a toddler gate or electrical socket cover, TV mounts and furniture straps are necessary precautions for keeping your family safe.

- Brandpoint

Family Movie Night

“Escape from Planet Earth”

Rated: PG

Length: 89 minutes

Synopsis: Astronaut Scorch Supernova finds himself caught in a trap when he responds to an SOS from a notoriously dangerous alien planet.

Violence/scary rating: 3

Sexual-content rating: 2

Profanity rating: 2

Drugs/alcohol rating: 2

Family Time rating: 2.5. This is a good family film - check it out if you can.

(Ratings are judged on a five-point scale, with 5 being “bad for kids” and 1 being “fine for kids.”)

Book Report

“Under the Never Sky,” by Veronica Rossi

Ages: 14-17

Pages: 376

Synopsis: Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse. Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive. A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky. In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty. - HarperCollins Publishers

Did You Know

A study published in Pediatrics found that children who switched to educational TV programming had fewer problems in preschool than when they watched violent shows.

GateHouse News Service

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